I believe this place was featured on tv years ago. I'm not really sure, but then how many carinderias do you know offer Japanese food? I wanted to go, but I didn't catch the address so I had no way of knowing where it was. A couple of months ago this was featured in a late night program. Then more recently it was feature in a segment in late night news. My sister suggested that we try it so, now that I have someone to get lost with, it was only a matter of finding how to get there. Here's the address:
Suzuki-san Carinderia
549 Vicente Del Fierro St (at Bato St), 1012 Manila, Metro Manila Philippines
Directions to commute there are at the bottom of this blog post or click here.
The place is packed. When we arrived there was a group of people standing outside. Wow, it was my first time to see a carinderia with seat waiting. We arrived at past six, and this seems to be their peak time because in the two hours we spent there no seat was left empty for too long.
Gyoza takes a while to make it seems, so next time we're taking one out it's probably better to order it while you're eating to save time. For Php70 you get 5 pieces and a dipping sauce. The gyoza wrapper had a crunchy bottom and was soft everywhere else. My sister was a bit perplexed why I wanted this when it was just a dumpling; you can just get siomai anywhere. But I don't think that this is like siomai. The meat filling tastes more, well, meaty than the average siomai, with little squares of some cabbage looking thing. The sauce does taste like the typical spicy soy sauce you get with siomai, though. And anyway, I never had this before so I wanted to try it.
Beef teriyaki with rice. This looks like very thin slices of meat with very thinly sliced cabbage on the side plus a plate of rice and costs Php98. The serving is ample for one person, and might even necessitate an extra serving of rice. We shared every dish we ordered but decided not to get extra rice since we already ordered a lot. The taste is okay.
Beef ramen. So I was hoping to get pork ramen which was written on a cartolina posted on one wall, but I forgot to order it and went for beef ramen instead. This costs Php98 pesos, and it's big enough to share. The broth is a little bland for my taste, especially since the noodles are fat, but there was plenty of thinly sliced meat though that looks like it was cut in the same manner as the beef teriyaki.
Okonomiyaki. Their okonomiyaki is I guess the standard okonomiyaki- that is, without noodles, and I never had okonomiyaki without noodles. It's not as good as the one I tasted in Little Tokyo, but it's close, and at only php60 it's less than half the price! For me, this was easily the best dish we ordered. Delicious and cheap!
I was only sad that since we spent a few more hours out before going, our takeout suffered a bit. Next time I go there I'm planning to bring an insulated lunch box so I can keep my okonomiyaki takeout in all it's freshly cooked glory. Mwahahahaha.
Every table is provided with a pitcher of cold water, though we didn't drink ours since we had brought Cokes. I heard somebody ask for mineral water but I have heard a waitress offer it or other drinks to anyone upon ordering. My sister said they're probably more focused on the food. Since it is a carinderia, providing the pitcher of water was probably the standard anyway.
My sister really liked the experience and so did I. The price really makes a difference. Elsewhere, we wouldn't order as much because of how much it would cost us. But here we had a filling meal and a takeout of gyoza and okonomiyaki for only Php456. You can order a lot and taste a lot in just one visit, which is also what I think everyone else is doing because the orders just kept coming.
There were things I hope they'd changed like the menu. A consistent menu would be nice. Apart from the one posted on the wall, there were two types of laminated menus. I wish there was a consistency in the menus for easier ordering.
One more thing to note was the waiting time. In comments I've seen online, the most common complaint was how long it took them to wait for food. The waiting time for our meal wasn't that long, it was just our gyoza to go that took a long time. Personally, I don't mind. Like I said, it seems that everyone was ordering a lot and the waitresses looked at wits' end just trying to keep up. I do hope they'd eventually be more systematic in the ordering of food and in the roles of their staff.
The staff were nice, even with the mayhem. Especially the Japanese owner! He was exactly like I saw him on tv. He such a character, and very talkative, but since his Filipino is limited it involved a lot of pantomiming. I am happy to note that after this experience I am now well versed in pantomime. Lol.
I heard somebody waiting for a table say, Hindi siya ang nagluluto, after they saw him sitting in the counter. (It's true, we didn't see him cook but the one of the guys cooking was Japanese, I think, because they were talking in Japanese.) It seems they too sought this place after seeing it on tv.
I think a lot of people came here after seeing it on tv. There were patrons parking their cars on the street, then standing to wait for a table. How many carinderias can boast of a diverse clientele? At the same time, given that it is a little out of the way of mass transport systems, it was understandable that the people with cars were the most likely to find this place.
It was a good experience and a great way of trying out different dishes at without breaking the bank. If anyone is too picky about the "service" though should probably look elsewhere, like fast food. When something is really cheap expect that something's got to give.
1. You have to be able to get at the LRT1 Bluementritt Station.
Depending on where you are, there are many ways to get to LRT1 Blumentritt Station. If you are coming from Edsa, there's an LRT1 station near MRT1 Taft Station.
I had something I needed to do in Legarda, Manila first so from there we boarded the train at MRT2 Legarda station and got off at the last stop, MRT2 Recto Station. The MRT2 Recto Station is connected via walkway with LRT1 Doroteo Jose Station. From LRT1 Doroteo Jose Station, we boarded the train and got off at the LRT1 Blumentritt Station.
2. Go down at the road level and cross the street towards Goldilocks.
Beside Goldilocks is a street that looks like a market. Walk through this street until the intersection where the road crosses the PNR train tracks to the right.
3. Board the "Blum" Jeepney
There are jeepneys lined up in front. Supposedly, these jeepneys' routes are Blumentritt-Balut, however "Blum" is the only thing written on the signs. Tipid. Anyway, you can tell driver to drop you off at Vicente del Fierro Street, corner Bato Street. Fare is Php8.50.
4. Get off at Vicente del Fierro Street, corner Bato Street.
You'll know you're close to your destination when you pass the rotunda. It's a small rotunda but not hard to miss. You can get off in front of Bato Street and then walk in the same direction of the jeepney to Suzuki-san Carinderia. It's very close, like 10 steps or something, and you can actually get off directly in front of it if you choose but if you're worried you might miss it it's better to just get off at Bato Street.
5. Going home: Getting back to LRT1 Blumentritt Station
Just ride the "Blum" jeepney. From Suzuki-san, cross the street back to the side where you got off initially, board the "Blum" jeepney and it will take you back. Then walk back though the market to the LRT1 Blumentritt Station.
Suzuki-san Carinderia
549 Vicente Del Fierro St (at Bato St), 1012 Manila, Metro Manila Philippines
Directions to commute there are at the bottom of this blog post or click here.
The Area
I don't remember if I've been to Tondo before but it has always been a stereotype that Tondo is a rough place. The first I noticed when we got here was that it looked like a nice street. It looked pretty quiet actually. The Blumentritt station area looked way more chaotic than this.The place is packed. When we arrived there was a group of people standing outside. Wow, it was my first time to see a carinderia with seat waiting. We arrived at past six, and this seems to be their peak time because in the two hours we spent there no seat was left empty for too long.
The Food
We had gyoza, beef teriyaki with rice, beef ramen, and okonomiyaki.Gyoza takes a while to make it seems, so next time we're taking one out it's probably better to order it while you're eating to save time. For Php70 you get 5 pieces and a dipping sauce. The gyoza wrapper had a crunchy bottom and was soft everywhere else. My sister was a bit perplexed why I wanted this when it was just a dumpling; you can just get siomai anywhere. But I don't think that this is like siomai. The meat filling tastes more, well, meaty than the average siomai, with little squares of some cabbage looking thing. The sauce does taste like the typical spicy soy sauce you get with siomai, though. And anyway, I never had this before so I wanted to try it.
Beef ramen. So I was hoping to get pork ramen which was written on a cartolina posted on one wall, but I forgot to order it and went for beef ramen instead. This costs Php98 pesos, and it's big enough to share. The broth is a little bland for my taste, especially since the noodles are fat, but there was plenty of thinly sliced meat though that looks like it was cut in the same manner as the beef teriyaki.
Okonomiyaki. Their okonomiyaki is I guess the standard okonomiyaki- that is, without noodles, and I never had okonomiyaki without noodles. It's not as good as the one I tasted in Little Tokyo, but it's close, and at only php60 it's less than half the price! For me, this was easily the best dish we ordered. Delicious and cheap!
I was only sad that since we spent a few more hours out before going, our takeout suffered a bit. Next time I go there I'm planning to bring an insulated lunch box so I can keep my okonomiyaki takeout in all it's freshly cooked glory. Mwahahahaha.
Every table is provided with a pitcher of cold water, though we didn't drink ours since we had brought Cokes. I heard somebody ask for mineral water but I have heard a waitress offer it or other drinks to anyone upon ordering. My sister said they're probably more focused on the food. Since it is a carinderia, providing the pitcher of water was probably the standard anyway.
My sister really liked the experience and so did I. The price really makes a difference. Elsewhere, we wouldn't order as much because of how much it would cost us. But here we had a filling meal and a takeout of gyoza and okonomiyaki for only Php456. You can order a lot and taste a lot in just one visit, which is also what I think everyone else is doing because the orders just kept coming.
There were things I hope they'd changed like the menu. A consistent menu would be nice. Apart from the one posted on the wall, there were two types of laminated menus. I wish there was a consistency in the menus for easier ordering.
One more thing to note was the waiting time. In comments I've seen online, the most common complaint was how long it took them to wait for food. The waiting time for our meal wasn't that long, it was just our gyoza to go that took a long time. Personally, I don't mind. Like I said, it seems that everyone was ordering a lot and the waitresses looked at wits' end just trying to keep up. I do hope they'd eventually be more systematic in the ordering of food and in the roles of their staff.
The staff were nice, even with the mayhem. Especially the Japanese owner! He was exactly like I saw him on tv. He such a character, and very talkative, but since his Filipino is limited it involved a lot of pantomiming. I am happy to note that after this experience I am now well versed in pantomime. Lol.
I heard somebody waiting for a table say, Hindi siya ang nagluluto, after they saw him sitting in the counter. (It's true, we didn't see him cook but the one of the guys cooking was Japanese, I think, because they were talking in Japanese.) It seems they too sought this place after seeing it on tv.
I think a lot of people came here after seeing it on tv. There were patrons parking their cars on the street, then standing to wait for a table. How many carinderias can boast of a diverse clientele? At the same time, given that it is a little out of the way of mass transport systems, it was understandable that the people with cars were the most likely to find this place.
It was a good experience and a great way of trying out different dishes at without breaking the bank. If anyone is too picky about the "service" though should probably look elsewhere, like fast food. When something is really cheap expect that something's got to give.
So, directions.
1. You have to be able to get at the LRT1 Bluementritt Station.
Depending on where you are, there are many ways to get to LRT1 Blumentritt Station. If you are coming from Edsa, there's an LRT1 station near MRT1 Taft Station.
I had something I needed to do in Legarda, Manila first so from there we boarded the train at MRT2 Legarda station and got off at the last stop, MRT2 Recto Station. The MRT2 Recto Station is connected via walkway with LRT1 Doroteo Jose Station. From LRT1 Doroteo Jose Station, we boarded the train and got off at the LRT1 Blumentritt Station.
2. Go down at the road level and cross the street towards Goldilocks.
Beside Goldilocks is a street that looks like a market. Walk through this street until the intersection where the road crosses the PNR train tracks to the right.
3. Board the "Blum" Jeepney
There are jeepneys lined up in front. Supposedly, these jeepneys' routes are Blumentritt-Balut, however "Blum" is the only thing written on the signs. Tipid. Anyway, you can tell driver to drop you off at Vicente del Fierro Street, corner Bato Street. Fare is Php8.50.
4. Get off at Vicente del Fierro Street, corner Bato Street.
You'll know you're close to your destination when you pass the rotunda. It's a small rotunda but not hard to miss. You can get off in front of Bato Street and then walk in the same direction of the jeepney to Suzuki-san Carinderia. It's very close, like 10 steps or something, and you can actually get off directly in front of it if you choose but if you're worried you might miss it it's better to just get off at Bato Street.
5. Going home: Getting back to LRT1 Blumentritt Station
Just ride the "Blum" jeepney. From Suzuki-san, cross the street back to the side where you got off initially, board the "Blum" jeepney and it will take you back. Then walk back though the market to the LRT1 Blumentritt Station.
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